Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Fab Four!

Apparently I'm still on my Beatles kick :)

A friend offered me a pair of free tickets to see The Fab Four ~ a Beatles tribute band ~ at The Rose Theatre in Brampton last night. Since seeing the Beatles for real is sadly an impossibility, this show was something I was not going to miss!

I kind of let myself get right into it and pretend it was the real thing... I even wore a 70's inspired outfit with a bit of an East Indian vibe to it, as a show of my affection for George Harrison, LOL!

Me, doing my best 70's Beatles fan impression :)

The show started with an introduction by Ed Sullivan (obviously a clip from one of his shows back in the day). The Fab Four took the stage dressed in their iconic suits with those famous haircuts, and they opened with Twist and Shout.

Yay, Ringo!

John was fab :)

Paul and John were amazing... it was incredible how much they sounded like the real Paul and John, even when they spoke! Their banter was lively and hilarious, and I thought they did an amazing job of impersonating them. Ringo was great as well, but I have to say I was pretty disappointed in the guy who played George. Not only did he look nothing like him (think chubby Italian dad, instead of wiry, mysterious young man), he also wasn't a very good singer. So that kind of threw me off a little bit... but the others more than made up for it.

Yeah... that's supposed to be George.

So the first half of the show was a selection of earlier Beatles tunes from 1962-65, including A Hard Day's Night, I Feel Fine, 8 Days A Week, This Boy, and All My Loving.

After the intermission, they came back dressed as Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and did a mix of songs from 1965-67, such as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, With A Little Help From My Friends, and Penny Lane.

Paul and George

John

During Yellow Submarine, John left the stage which was a bit alarming... but as the song ended he returned, with long hair, glasses, and attired in his white Abbey Road suit. The other "Threetles" as he called them left the stage, and he performed "Imagine" (not a Beatles song, but still great to see performed live!)

When that was done, Paul, George and Ringo returned to the stage also garbed in their Abbey Road gear, and they then played a selection of songs from that album and a few others. I was surprised that they did Lady Madonna and Hey Bulldog, but they did fit well into the set.

The Balled of John and Yoko was a highlight, as was Octopus's Garden. And even though the man playing George was not a deadringer and unfortunately a weak singer, I still got caught up in the moment when he began to play Here Comes The Sun. Yeah, a little misty-eyed, me. I can't help it, that song just does something to me.

For the encore, they came back with Revolution and Hey Jude, which I still have in my head this morning :)

Really the only thing that bothered me about the show was the apathetic audience. What is it with audiences in the GTA? Why are they so lazy? You don't stay in your seat and remain quiet during a show like this! And where was the applause? I was embarrassed to be among that crowd.

The band really gave it their all, they were enthusiastic and energetic and worked really hard to get a reaction from the audience, and they got almost nothing in return (with the exception of my ear-piercing shrieks, haha). My message to audiences: if you don't want to clap and sing and get into it, STAY HOME and watch the tube instead. Give the tickets to someone who will appreciate the show!